A coaching leader uses many different tools and techniques to help people move toward achieving their goals. I have already shared the 5 techniques I use most often but there are many more. Here are 5 more coaching techniques you can use to coach people toward success.
Risk Analysis: When a person is having trouble making a decision, you can ask him/her to conduct a risk analysis. Ask what is the potential payoff for making a specific decision on a scale of 0 to 10 (0 being none and 10 being very high). Then ask for the risk that occurs for making the same decision on a scale from 0-10 (0 being none to 10 being catastrophic). This should lead you to ask some questions related to the person’s risk tolerance and reward thus creating clarity for the person you are coaching.
Stakeholdering: Help the person you are coaching determine who needs to be considered before taking action. You can ask, “Who will be affected by your action or decision?” Have the person you are coaching write down each person and determine what (if any) communication or action needs to take place to address the needs or include the person’s ideas in the change or decision.
Values Check: Ask the person you are coaching to tell you what he/she really values. You may also want to ask the person to prioritize the values. Finally, ask the person how his/her current life priorities fit the values. You may also want to ask, “How can you live more intentionally to give time and energy to the most important things in your life?”
Sweet Spot: This is a process of getting the person you are coaching to think about where he/she needs to focus energy and engagement. It will help the person find something that inspires and motivates him/her to action. Ask the person to write down the things he/she is good at (talents and skills), and then ask the person to write down what he or she is passionate about. Finally, ask the person to talk about what he/she sees as the needs of the customer, team, or organization. Using a Venn diagram show how these three areas (skills, passions, and needs) create a middle area (called the “Sweet Spot”) and may be an area the person can have a significant impact and bring great value to the organization or team.
Telescope: Ask the person you are coaching to think about the issue/topic of conversation from a big picture or broad perspective (future view) perspective. Then ask the person to look at the issue/topic from a very small picture or narrow perspective (here and now view). Then ask, “What did you see?”, “What are the differences?”, “What pros and cons did you see from each view?” and “What conflicts will naturally occur between the views?” This technique helps a person see both the big and small picture and moves them to balance strategic and tactical concerns.
These are all great questions to ask your employees and yourself. I really like the “Telescope” exercise. I think people tend to go one way or the other in regard to seeing the immediate future or big picture of their entire life when it comes to motivation. Sometimes it helps to look at things from a different perspective.